Curated Style

Monday, July 18, 2016

I don’t use Twitter often, but when I do, it’s not one of those generic quotes you can find on Google. "If you think you can do better, you probably can. If you think you deserve better, you probably do.” - 7/6/16.

I may not write blog posts as often as I’d like to, but when I do, I hope it’s not a waste of your time.

Most people have great taste, but no sense. It is unrealistic to own 5 Chanel living paycheck to paycheck, or having to restrain from eating well and living well. “Passion for fashion” was never about how many brand name things you can acquire, despite Pokemon Go convincing all of us that we "gotta catch ‘em all" to be the greatest ever was. In fact, the best interests in fashion actually come from our inability to have it all. It is rooted in the idea that fashion is endless, that helps us curate our style by being focused and selective. And why having nice things doesn’t always translate to having style.

In our highly commercialized and consumeristic society, we are encouraged to spend and buy as much as we want in order to obtain temporary gratifications. We debate about environmental issues and we show sympathy for unethical labor, yet many of us fail to think about how we can make a difference before directly blaming a bigger source.

It is unfortunate that we live in a world where creatives are always undervalued. Of course, it would be nice if we could all casually afford all the luxuries that we desire and justify a $500 pretty lace dress to wear groceries shopping. Maybe if we regard artists and designers as highly as we do for doctors and lawyers, Chanel and Celine could be prescribed and Zimmermann and Dion Lee could be afforded over the counter.

There’s nothing necessarily wrong with fast fashion, but there’s also no need to buy a new shirt every day. If one is really conscious about their clothes, one should treat their closet like a boutique. There’s no need for every single color of the same thing or an entire collection of a designer, but rather compose the entire thing with pieces that represent your style, that you can display season after season without worrying if it’s old.

Clothes are, in a sense, kind of like people. And I like to think good people never go out of style. A knit skirt like this is probably the least sensible thing to wear in New York’s relentless summer, but on cooler days I can get away with it because it has a tied waist that’s still relevant and a midi length that I just know will continue to last past fall. Plus these two outfits are just the bare minimum that this skirt can do. I can already see it turning into dresses and becoming a great layering piece for delicate knits. And I like to look at clothes the same way I look at people, I always try to see their utmost potential.